Preview and Virtual Program for the Free Dance; Oct. 23 1:30 am EST

NHK Free Dance Preview

One would expect Davis and White (USA), last year's Olympic and World silver medallists to completely blow away the competition here, and indeed, they should win the overall event easily. Changes in ice dance rules may cause some surprises for fans, though. The new short dance format was competed for the first time on the Grand Prix circuit at 2 am EST, October 22, at NHK in Nagoya, Japan, and indeed had a surprise or two. As in most years, there have been changes to the scoring system as well. Short lifts can only earn a maximum of 4 base points, instead of 5, and requirements for level 4 twizzles are more stringent. Fans will see teams starting their twizzles with a small jump, or doing three sets of twizzles instead of four in a effort to gain level 4.

Davis and White scrapped their first version of a short dance to the "Amelie" soundtrack, following monitoring at Champs' Camp, so their new program to music from "La Traviata" and "La Boheme" is quite new to them. Additionally, they have been very busy skating in TV shows and in SOI, something new for them this year. They did not perform with quite their usual speed and crispness, and skated a shade carefully in the short dance. However, their program was much better than the other teams, and was skated without any glaring error. As a result, they go into the long program 9 points ahead of Weaver and Poje, who are in second place. Davis and White will be skating their free dance to music from the Italian movie "Il Postino" (The Postman.) The Postman is a love story, and the general theme of the music is a tango romantica. I expect Davis and White to win the overall event handily, given their skills and their huge lead from the short dance.

Weaver and Poje (CAN) did not compete at Worlds last year, however they will have practiced the Golden Waltz in preparation for it. They are the reigning Four Continents champions. Their choice of "At Last'" for the Golden Waltz section of their short dance may well make it difficult to get full technical marks for that portion of the dance, due to the irregular phrasing and non-Viennese Waltz feel of the piece. They skated this dance carefully, and their very classic Audrey Hepburn on ice look served them very well in the short dance. Their free dance, to music from Moulin Rouge, should suit them well., too. They remain challengers for second, third iif Capellini and Lanotte recover in the free dance, or the Shibutanis or Illinykh and Katsapalov skate their very best.

Huge excitement has heralded the debut of World Junior Champions Ilinykh and Katsapalov (RUS) on the senior circuit this year, following their extremely well received "Schindler's List" free dance, and Andean folk dance last season. However, they arrived at the Russian test skate this summer somewhat out of shape, and their programs were criticized by Tarasova. Like the Shibutanis, the Golden Waltz is new to them. And although their choice of the waltz from "Agony" transitioned relatively well into a second half of the dance to a tango, again, it made correct performance of the Golden Waltz more difficult. Their free dance will be a ballet interpretation of Minkus' "Don Quixote". They are also strong candidates for the bronze medal, and perhaps the silver medal.

Capellini and Lanotte, who skated to a charming, light-hearted combination of the Golden Waltz and the Quickstep to "Que Sera Sera" and "Girls, Girls, Girls". Here they did not skate as well as at Nebelhorn, and had several errors that cost them technical marks. They finished in fourth place in the short dance. They could pull up in the free dance, but in general they have tended to slip in that segment of the competition. They will skate to Our Love is Easy and Goodnite by Melody Gardot, arranged by Karl Hugo.

Third place is still wide open. The Shibutanis (USA) had a disaster in their short dance at Nebelhorn this fall, where they made their senior debut. Maia fell at the beginning of their sequential twizzles, which were were awarded no points. Maia has grown three inches, and as a result, this team presents a much more mature appearance on the ice this year, but it means they are still adjusting their technique. Alex stepped on Maia's dress in the Golden Waltz in the short dance. Maia skated the rest of the program with a piece of her costume trailing behind her.. The Golden Waltz is new to them, as they are just up from juniors. The Shibutanis, skating their free dance to music from Charlie Chaplin and Irving Berlin, defeated Capellini and Lanotte in the free dance portion of Nebelhorn. The Shibutanis should not be discounted as challengers for third overall, despite their problems in the SD.

The surprise of the event may be Mysliveckova and Novak (CZE), who have done very well in the two short dances they have competed in this fall, and Nebelhorn and Nepela. They have earned a level four for one of their Golden Waltz segments in both competitions. However, here in the SD, their twizzles were wildly out of synch. Their free dance is rather a patchwork for songs with a uniting theme of money. They should finish in the top five.

Free Dance - Order of Skate is in Reverse Order of the teams' position in the Free Dance.

Just tuned into the scores. I/K had some kind of issue and are now behind the Shibs, with only 2 teams (W/P & D/W) still to skate. I wonder if this is the first time the Shibs have ever beaten I/K?

C/L also had some sort of problem--I'm surprised but they won't be making this podium, which I thought was a slam-dunk.

This may be an interesting season indeed for Dance...

I/K apparently held a lift too long, but the added point wouldn't have changed their placement. C/L looked really off during the FD, and didn't have really great edges either.
I hope IN puts the FD on demand very soon!

C/L completely blew a lift. And their twizzles were every which way. I'm wondering if Anna ate the sushi. They certainly looked out of it tonight. I expected much better from them.

Andrew Poje dropped his foot at the beginning of the twizzles, losing at least a level. The heart shape position they drew at the beginning of their Moulin Rouge program, was kind of tacky.

I/K ended with a really sloppy, slow spin, and they have not replaced last year's lifts yet with new lifts appropriate for a ballet program. The effect reminded me of a much better costumed version of this program from time to time:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS-f2...next=1&index=1
I see what Tarasova meant about this program. It's not soup yet (but look out at the end of the year when it is!)

I/K only competed one year against the Shibs (last year) when Alex was growing and Maia wasn't, and they had that tango program that didn't really work for them. So no, the Shibs were behind I/K all last year. Congratulations to them for beating the 8th place team in World Standings (C/L) in their senior debut.

Congratulations to the Shibutanis for executing their Smile/Face the Music depression program perfectly and winning a medal at their GP debut!!

Congratulations to W/P for their second medal, and they may well make it to the GPF!

Congratulations to D/W for winning another GP by a huge amount. They have generally skated to big opera or orchestral pieces, so a tango/romantic FD is a departure for them. Some of the stuff in that program is crazy, crazy hard, particularly that pair spin with Meryl facing upwards, and, of course for a D&W or V&M program, the lifts. The program needs practice, though, which is not a surprise with their touring schedule this spring/summer, plus having to rework the SD. I'm not sure I like the lift with the swing by the knees move in it, but then it was a little rough this first time out. However, they didn't get a deduction for it.

I'm really pleased for the Shibutani's. Their program was beautiful and i'm glad they could rebound so well from their mistake in the SD.

I'm SO happy for Weaver and Poje. I'll admit, when he dropped his foot on the twizzle, I was worried things would unravel, but they kept going as if nothing happened. I love their new lifts, too, and can't wait to see how much smoother they get as the season goes on. As for the program, its a real departure for them, and it took me a few views to formulate an opinion on it, but I kind of love it. I know its different and a little unrefined right now, but I think it will work really well for them this year, and I'm happy to see them changing their style. I think they have a real shot at making the grand prix final.

I LOVED Davis and White's program. The music, the spin the lifts...even the costume. I'm so happy for them, and It seems like they have actually improved in the off season (if that's possible). It's a bit of a different style for them too, but I adored how they interpreted it. They should just be given the grand prix final gold now and save themselves the extra trip.